Balancing Act
by ncfan
Summary: When all else fails, run circles around each other, until the circles get closer and tighter. Until then, dance. IshiHime.


Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

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The gymnasium was packed full with students, engaged in a myriad of activities. The first school dance of the new year had had a more than decent turn out; most of the school, it seemed, was in attendance.

Orihime skirted the edge of the gym, apologizing when she bumped into classmates and keeping her hands pressed down on her rose-colored skirt.

She didn't see anyone she knew there. Granted, Orihime had only a small circle of close friends, so it wasn't much of a shock to her. No one she knew really liked these sort of social gatherings, and in all honesty, Orihime had just come because she enjoyed being in a crowd even if she wasn't part of the crowd. She also like getting out of the apartment every once in a while.

At the back of the gym, there was, behind the table with punch and snack foods, there were several metal folding chairs pressed up against the wall (all of this was between the opposite rows of bleachers that had been pushed up against the wall for the festivities); Orihime was heading there. Since she wasn't at the dance with anyone, she didn't really want to spend too much time on the dance floor.

And sitting on one of those chairs, pensively chewing on the remains of a ham sandwich was the last person Orihime ever expected to see at a school dance.

Orihime frowned softly, cocking her head to one side. "Ishida-kun?" she asked incredulously, meeting his eyes as he looked up at her, startled.

Ishida was dressed plainly: white shirt, black pants, tie the same color. If anything, he looked almost as though he was expecting to go back to class at any moment. At the same time, he was probably one of the better-dressed boys there; most had gone for bright, gaudy colors.

"I didn't expect to see you here!" Orihime exclaimed, smiling delightedly as she sat down in the chair beside Ishida, who put his plate under his chair. "I didn't think I would see anyone I knew here."

Ishida nodded slightly. "Hello, Inoue-san. Are you here by yourself?" he asked, in his quiet tones, hands fiddling in his lap.

Orihime smiled again, brushing her hair out of her face. "Yes, I am. I just wanted to get out of the house for a little while. And you?"

He shrugged sheepishly, forming a rueful smile. "I just came for the free food." Orihime had been to his apartment before, and had seen the glaring lack of food in Ishida's refrigerator; being constantly strapped for cash made getting food that wasn't Chinese takeout a little difficult.

"Isn't there a grocery store near where you live?" Orihime asked innocently, and Ishida felt his skin prickle slightly under her gaze.

"Yes," he admitted. "But I stopped going there after—" Ishida stopped himself. "You probably don't want to hear about that, though."

"Hear about what?"

"I stopped…" Ishida framed the words delicately "…I stopped because I realized that the men out back were making a fortune in cocaine and the women who milled around the edges of the parking lot after dark were prostitutes."

"Oh." Orihime was good at hiding shock, but it was clear that she hadn't been expecting to hear what Ishida had told her.

The music continued to play on; the man who had been playing the piano while the CD being played was recorded just didn't know how to hit a crescendo. They sat without speaking, and Ishida tried to think of what he could say to Orihime without stuttering.

"You…look nice," he murmured finally, face coloring furiously; the light was dim enough in the gym that maybe Orihime wouldn't notice. Actually, she looked more than nice, but Ishida wasn't entirely sure how to tell her that and not look like a stammering idiot. Her solid-colored rose pink dress was sleeveless and knee-length with wide straps.

Orihime smiled, face flushing prettily, as her hand went to the ever-present glittering hairpins just above her ears. "Thank you. You look very nice too."

Orihime really was quite an innocent, at least where _those_ matters were concerned.

Ishida leaned back in his chair, tipped his head back and let out a nervous sound that almost sounded like a high-pitched laugh. He was glad she was there, very glad, but Ishida didn't quite know how to handle it when his heart began to race, without warning.

"Have you…been alright?" Ishida inquired, voice hushed with concern he couldn't hide. He had only seen her at school for the past few days, and they hadn't spoken. Orihime had been quiet in class, not speaking to anyone except Tatsuki; she had been extremely quiet and almost withdrawn lately.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, and suddenly her smile was not entirely convincing.

The song on the CD that was being put through the stereo changed. Orihime's face lit up in recognition of the song. "I remember this song; it's one of my favorites."

Ishida wasn't sure what she was doing when Orihime stood up. She twirled on the ball of her foot to face him, a slightly inquisitive expression on her wide-eyed, oval-shaped face. "Do you want to go out there with me?"

The music had garbled his hearing of that last sentence; Ishida was sure of it. "Excuse me?"

Orihime didn't skip a beat, showing neither impatience nor irritation; she had always been amazingly patient, Ishida knew. "It's no fun dancing by yourself," Orihime explained, brushing a long strand of hair behind her shoulder. "Do you want to go and dance with me?"

At that point, Ishida was very grateful for the dim light, because he was sure that right then, his face was probably six different shades of red. "Oh. I'm…really not that good of a dancer, Inoue-san." In reality, he just wanted to avoid making a fool of himself in front of her.

"Well, I'm not a good dancer, either." Without warning, Orihime grabbed his hands and Ishida stood up to avoid being dragged to his feet. She smiled, not letting go. "Please, I won't mind if you step on my feet. I'll probably step on yours too, anyway."

Since she wasn't wearing heels, Ishida would have liked to point out that it wouldn't hurt him too much if she stepped on his feet, but didn't. He bit his lip momentarily, ducking his head.

"Okay."

"Great!" Orihime immediately dragged him onto the dance floor; Ishida wondered if all teenage girls Orihime's size were so freakishly strong.

Naturally, it wasn't the most graceful affair in the world. Neither of them had been kidding when they said they weren't good dancers, though no one stepped on each other's feet.

"Ishida-kun? You can…walk a little faster, if you like."

"Oh…sorry."

"That's alright."

They left about an hour later, going through the coat room to find their jackets in all the mess. Ishida had silently opted to walk with Orihime as she went home, and she had silently agreed.

The night air was crisp enough to nip and bite. It was mid-February, just after Valentine's day, and though the snow had long since melted, the cold still had a firm grip over the weather in Karakura Town.

"Quiet out here," Ishida commented in hushed tones, staring up at the sky through its slight smoke screen of smog.

"Yes," Orihime agreed, teeth chattering; she rubbed her arms through her thin windbreaker. "Cold, too."

Ishida frowned and noticed how much she was shivering. "You must be freezing. Here…" Ishida began the process of pulling of his heavy felt coat.

"Oh, no, that's alright," Orihime stopped him quickly.

"Well, at least take my scarf. You're going to freeze to death out here."

"Okay." As the wool scarf changed hands, Orihime managed to surprise Ishida. She stood up on tiptoes and put a hand behind Ishida's neck, and lightly, briefly kissed his cheek.

"Thank you," Orihime smiled sweetly, before turning and starting to walk down the sidewalk.

_Where did that come from?_ Ishida rubbed at his face, feeling his cheeks burning. It had not been…unpleasant.

_Can't complain, I suppose. _Ishida found himself grinning foolishly.

"Come on!" Orihime waved from down the sidewalk.

_Inoue-san… As usual, completely oblivious._

"Ishida-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you decided to come tonight."

"Yeah… So am I."


End file.
